How Amao entrenched safety culture in NAF’s operations

In this piece, BENJAMIN SAMSON examines efforts of the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, in enhancing safety in Nigerian Air Force (NAF) kinetic and non-kinetic operations.

Safety is at the heart of aviation and the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has over the years given safety the highest priority it deserves in all its kinetic and non-kinetic operations.

Specifically, since his appointment as the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, has left no stone unturned in entrenching a culture of safety in all operations of the NAF. The NAF under his leadership has organized series of safety seminars and workshops where erudite safety specialists presented papers and shared valuable experiences that are vital to improving safety culture in the Service.

Commitment to safety

Speaking last week Wednesday during the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Safety Review Board (SRB) meeting in Lagos, Air Marshal Amao who is the chairman of NAF- SRB, reiterated the commitment of the Service to deepening safety practices.

He said bearing in mind that safety is at the core of NAF’s daily routines, the Service remains committed to developing, implementing and reviewing policies to ensure that NAF activities were conducted with utmost safety in an optimally safe environment.

The Air Chief reiterated the importance of the SRB, which is to guide the NAF in appropriately allocating resources to support all safety systems and build organizational culture that fosters safe practices.

“The meeting was expected to provide an avenue to examine prevalent and evolving safety challenges to enable the NAF adopt safety processes to uphold high safety standards in all its activities,” he said.

Burden of safety

Similarly, speaking recently at the 2022 safety seminar organized by the NAF, the Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen. Bashir Salihi Magashi (retd), said that the peculiarities of air operations have placed an additional burden on the NAF to take the lead in safety matters at all 3 levels of warfare; namely, the strategic, operational and tactical levels.

Represented by the Director of Air Force Affairs in the Ministry, Mr Dahiru Mohammed, Magashi said aviation accidents such as air crashes, could erode the military’s overall war fighting capabilities and dampen the general morale of the Services and the nation at large.

He said, “I am indeed delighted to be associated with this event based on my firm belief that safety plays a very important role in the successful accomplishment of your constitutional mandate. While I understand the essence of safety for the armed forces in general, I must admit that the peculiarities of air operations have placed an additional burden on the Nigerian Air Force to take the lead in safety matters at all 3 levels of warfare; namely, the strategic, operational and tactical levels.

“Military aviation safety is of great concern to us at the Ministry of Defence, particularly because aviation accidents such as air crashes, could erode the Ministry’s overall war fighting capabilities in many tangible and intangible ways. Apart from the loss of expensive platforms in air crashes, the accompanying irreplaceable loss of well trained and highly skilled personnel often have adverse effects on the general morale of the Services and the nation at large.

“During minor incidents or accidents, injury to personnel and aircraft often lead to loss of valuable man hours, while affected personnel or aircraft are grounded during the period of accident investigation or even recovery from injuries and aircraft repairs. This is not to mention the financial and economic implication of such repairs or outright replacement of the affected aircraft or equipment.

 “From the foregoing, it is obvious that aircraft accidents and incidents exert enormous, morale and economic pressure on the nation. Therefore, Safety is everybody’s business and all hands must always be on deck to ensure and maintain high safety standards in all environments, be it at homes, workplace or theatres of operation. I am aware of the numerous initiatives and measures put in place to improve ground and flight safety in the Nigerian Air Force.”

Safety institute

Similarly, the NAF under Amao has continued to improve safety culture through the NAF Institute of Safety (NAFIS). The Institute has been reinvigorated to conduct broad-based training and ensure that personnel implement NAF safety strategies and processes.

According to the CAS, “training programmes at NAFIS have recently been reviewed and tailored to meet the needs of various trade specialties. NAF pilots and Instructor Pilots have received flight safety training overseas and at NAFIS which has contributed to enhancing their training profiles. “

Giving more details about the activities of NAFIS with regard to safety in NAF operations, the Air Chief in his remarks at the NAF Safety Seminar 2022 said:  “We have also reinvigorated the Nigerian Air Force Institute of Safety to enable it meet its objectives.

“For instance, within the last 3 months about 30 officers have graduated from various safety courses conducted by the School.  We are also collaborating with the United State Air Force Safety Team.  The Team conducted safety assessments of some of our operational units and made far-reaching recommendations, most of which have been implemented.

“Consequently, the Pilot Basic Safety Course, which is the first of its kind run by the Nigerian Air Force Institute of Safety, was recently conducted for 12 pilots and 2 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operators of the Nigerian Air Force.  New sets of pilots, UAV operators and ground crew are already billed to undergo the same Course.

“The key objective is to produce pilots, UAV operators and ground crew with analytical minds and adequate knowledge in safety procedures, hazards identification and risk assessment.”

More safety measures

Likewise, in the quest for safety the NAF has done its bit by putting processes in place in line with its Safety Management System and best practices.

“We are improving the state of our military airfields and have procured runway sweepers, fire tenders, Personal Protective Equipment, upgraded our Base Operations Offices and other safety critical equipment for our operational units.

“We have trained Flight Dispatchers to man the Offices and a number of our instructors across relevant NAF specialties at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria.

“Similarly, some officers are undergoing safety courses at notable safety training institutes overseas so as to bolster capacity.  We have also upgraded some of our aircraft and equipped them with more safety features,” Amao explained.

 Collaborations

“Additionally, we are collaborating more with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, Accident Investigation Bureau and the Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria in a bid to improve our safety standards and systems.

“We appreciate the immense support and cooperation of the organizations as well as their presence at this Seminar.  A recent dividend of this collaboration was the assessment of our airfields and some joint user airfields by a joint team constituted by the Minister of Aviation with a view to upgrading navigational and safety facilities at the airfields.  Accordingly, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency has charted Performance Based Navigation approaches for some of our airfields,” he added.

Mentorship

Furthermore, the demand for air power in the current fight against insurgency in the country is ever increasing and has put pressure on personnel, resources and material. In the midst of such enormous pressure, there are tendencies for unsafe acts, complacency and challenges of human factors from time to time. To check this, the CAS in his wisdom has put together a mentorship programme for personnel.

“As part of initiatives to prevent unsafe tendencies. I instituted a mentorship program for our aircrew whereby some of our highly experienced retired senior officers who are safety trained, tour operational units periodically to observe activities at the units and advise commanders, aircrew and non-aircrew on best safety practices.

“This is in addition to the unit safety audit being conducted by the Standards and Evaluation Branch. I have also directed that past Accident Investigation Board reports be made available to all operational units and studied with a view to identifying lessons and implementing pending safety recommendations,” he said.

Minimizing civilian casualties

Meanwhile, speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Air Operations Seminar at Uyo, Akwa Ibom state recently, the CAS said as part of efforts to minimize civilian casualties in its operations, he instituted a committee to compile all allegations of accidental air strikes on civilians as well as review the circumstances leading to such strikes.

This, according to him, was with a view to proffer far-reaching measures that would mitigate future incidences of collateral damages on civilians during NAF operations.

Air Marshal Amao noted that the investigation further aims at promoting accountability, allowing the NAF to learn valuable lessons in order to avoid or mitigate similar cases in the future as well as take extra measures to minimize civilian harm and casualties in conflict areas.

He also charged the 17 young pilots winged at the event to always adhere to laid down Rules of Engagement while also taking all necessary steps to protect civilians and minimize civilian casualties during operations.

According to him, “The efforts to mitigate civilian casualties are not just a reflection of NAF values as a Service, but also strategically imperative to our operations.”

Beyond discussions, Air Marshal Amao has without doubt matched words with action in his resolve to deepen the tradition and culture of safety through dynamic leadership.